Hobie Kayaks

We are the leading supplier of Hobie MirageDrive Kayaks in the UK & Ireland including the entire range of kayaks and accessories. Browse through the information on our site, if you need any further assistance please don't hesitate to contact us by phone, email or call in and see us.

The newest addition to the Hobie Mirage fleet, the Mirage Compass offers a combination of features from the best-selling Revolution and Pro-Angler models in a simple, great value, high performance package.

The Hobie Revolution is the most popular out of the range. Its an all-rounder, a superb balance between speed and stability. Its sleeker design is still stable enough for fishing, touring and exploring.

Hobie Pro Angler Series.

The Hobie Pro Angler is the Ultimate fishing platform. Designed purely with angling in mind, the Pro Angler series are packed with features to ensure the best possbile fishing experience. The PA 12 is the 12ft package.

The Hobie Pro Angler is the Ultimate fishing platform. Designed purely with angling in mind, the Pro Angler series are packed with features to ensure the best possbile fishing experience. The PA 14 is the 14ft package.

£4,150.00

Hobie Island Kayaks.

The Hobie Island is formed around the Adventure, with added sail and outriggers to create a superb, exhilarating trimaran. So whether you feel like kayaking or sailing this awesome bit of kit will put a smile on your face.

The Hobie i12s with the Hobie MirageDrive within an innovative hull. This 12 foot single is perfect for those who are short on room and storage but wish to own a Hobie. It packs nicely within its own rolling travel bag.

The perfect answer for those that want a Hobie MirageDrive kayak for two—that you can take anywhere. It inflates easily with a supplied pump and deflates quickly for storage and travel. Think of all the places you can go with your favourite someone or solo. The i14T offers storage, stability and speed.

£4,155.00

Benefits of the Hobie Mirage Drive.

The Mirage Drive is simple and easy to use.

Your feet rest naturally on the pedals and you pedal effortlessly similar to a bicycle.

The larger muscles in our legs produce more powerful propulsion versus arms using a paddle.

In addition, correct paddle usage requires training and practice.

You also stay drier as pedalling eliminates drips that you get from using a paddle.

The Hobie Mirage Drive propels the boat easily and smoothly, and reaches hull speed with minimal effort. It also generates significant static thrust.

Efficiency

This is what the manufacturer say:

"Even we were surprised at the efficiency of the Mirage Drive. In a test to compare the efficiency of the Mirage Drive, we measured the heart rates of several kayakers at varying speeds in several paddled kayak models. In every case, the heart rate-or effort expended to maintain a particular speed-was three to ten percent less for pedalling versus paddling."

Translation? The Mirage Drive converts the effort of the human body into forward thrust more efficiently than a paddle! Allow us to explain. The Mirage Drive creates less turbulence in water. This becomes apparent when you compare the wake of a Hobie Mirage to the wake of a paddled kayak. With each stroke of the paddle, you'll see two vortices, or whirlpools, on the surface of the water.

These vortices are connected underwater, and there is considerable energy in these rotating masses of water. There are vortices in the wake of the Mirage Drive, but since the Mirage Drive acts on a much larger volume of water, they are much smaller and therefore contain less energy.

To create forward thrust on the water, a boat must move water backward. It can either move a little water quickly, or a lot of water slowly. The key to efficiency is to move a lot of water slowly with the least amount of turbulence. The volume of water that the Mirage Drive acts upon is approximately proportionate to the area that the fins sweep in one cycle, or about 226 square inches.

The volume of water that a paddle acts upon depends on the type of stroke. A basic stroke would act upon a volume of water proportionate to the area of the paddle, or about 90 square inches. This is just a fraction of the area "swept out" by the Mirage Drive, which explains the difference in efficiency.

Why not use a propeller? Human-powered propeller drives are typically smaller and therefore less efficient. We compared the performance of the Mirage Drive to a propeller drive, and found the Mirage Drive to be faster and more efficient. Studies on tuna and penguins show that oscillating foils such as the Mirage Drive are more efficient than propellers. Oscillating foils can make use of vortices that are naturally shed from anything going through the water to offset the vortices that would normally be generated by fins.

This equates to less turbulence in the water. The Mirage Drive fins "feather" into the flow when not pedalling and create very little drag; a propeller creates significant drag when it is not spinning. The back-and-forth motion of the pedals provides a long, smooth stroke. Pedals that go in circles on a boat have a much different feel than pedals on a bike.

On a boat, there are portions of a circular motion that are more difficult, so the cycle is not smooth. The back-and-forth motion allows the pedals to be positioned much lower in the cockpit.

The Mirage Drive allows any length of stroke desired, and performs well with both short and long strokes. The pedals easily adjust to accommodate different size peddlers.

The oscillating motion allows the use of a simple chain and cable system that is unaffected by sand and dirt, without the use of complicated seals.

The fins shed seaweed because they do not make a full rotation. The Mirage Drive fins fold up next to the hull for beaching and in shallow water by simply putting one foot forward.